The Alpha's Heart (Wilde Creek Two) (10 page)

Acksel twisted sharply and tossed Rufus to the ground.  The male rolled twice, righting himself only to be slammed in the stomach by Acksel’s shoulder.  Acksel shoved him hard into the altar and a cracking sound echoed in the air as Rufus howled in pain.

“There goes a rib,” Caleb chuckled.

Mia shivered.

Rufus kicked out at Acksel, who dodged effortlessly, dancing just out of reach with a taunting smile on his face.  Rufus swung his fists, missing Acksel entirely.  Acksel punched him three times in the face, in what looked like very coordinated strikes.  Cheek.  Cheek.  Temple.  His fists moved so quickly they were a blur; Rufus’ head kicked back and he stumbled a few steps.

Acksel kicked and swept Rufus’ legs out from under him and the male landed hard on the ground, his breath gusting out loudly.  Acksel leaned over the male, one knee firmly planted in his groin, one hand curved around his throat and holding him prone to the ground.  He lifted a hand and Mia saw that his fingers were transformed, dark fur covering the lengths and black, lethal claws curving out of the tips.

She pressed her lips together, her brows knitting in surprise.  Malachi said that Acksel wasn’t going to shift because of honor.  But he was shifting, wasn’t he?

Then Acksel began to slash at Rufus’ body with his clawed hand.  Cuts streaked Rufus’ arms, legs, and torso.

Acksel’s snarled words filtered through the air and Mia finally understood what he was saying.  With each slash through Rufus’ flesh, Acksel snarled, “For Brynn.  For Brynn.”

Rufus struggled under Acksel as he held him on the ground, cutting him again and again until his skin was shining red with his blood and the scent filled the air.  Acksel stood suddenly, bringing Rufus upright with him, shoving him away so he crashed into the altar and sprawled on the ground.

“You touched what is mine.  You threatened my family.”  Acksel’s body tensed as he stalked closer.

“Fuck. You.”

Acksel leapt over Rufus with a furious growl, landing on his knees on the altar and grabbing Rufus’ head between both hands.  The male didn’t struggle, closing his eyes in what appeared to be resignation.

Acksel twisted and there was a sharp cracking sound as Rufus’ neck broke.  Acksel released him, and he fell, limp, to the ground.  A part of her was terrified at what she’d seen.  She’d only ever witnessed non-shifting animals killed during hunts, like rabbits and deer.  To see a person — one that she’d known for most of her life — die at the hands of another was terrifying.  But the larger part of her, the wolf inside, knew that justice had to be served, and there was no justice like pack justice.

Acksel lifted his head and howled.  The sound was triumphant and mournful at the same time, and Mia understood the feeling as she added her own howl to the chorus of wolves that joined their alpha.  The night rang with the sound.  She howled for Brynn and the justice that had been had for her.  She howled for Acksel and his continued reign over the pack.  And she howled in happiness for her brother, who was coming home.

The pack quieted.  Barry, who had been part of Brynn’s abduction, started to panic when Acksel leveled his gaze at him.  The alpha snapped his fingers and Sam and Ren moved to the altar and released Barry from the chains.

“For your part in abducting my mate and pup, and for breaking the banishment laws of our pack, I sentence you to
halshar-run
.  May the pack have more mercy on you than you showed to my mate.”

A growl rippled through the pack males as clothes were shed.  Barry stood frozen for several moments and then he seemed to remember that he needed to run for his life.  He took off, a pale blur through the trees, and the males shifted and followed him.  Mia was glad she didn’t have to witness the frenzy when they finally caught him.

“I’m going to check in with Acksel.”  Malachi hugged her a little closer and then released her.  “I’ll meet you at the house.”

Her cousin Gavin stood with her as Malachi threaded through the thinning crowd and joined Acksel where he mopped his brow with his shirt.

“Did you know that Acksel and your human friend were mates?” Gavin asked.  Caleb had taken off for the hunt, but Gavin had opted to stay with her and see her safely back to her home.  Until Barry was dead and the final threat laid to rest, the pack was still taking precautions with unmated females.

“Not until recently.  How do you feel about having a human alpha female?”

Gavin snorted.  “I don’t care if she’s human or she has lime green scales and a fuzzy tail when she shifts.  Acksel cares for her and they’re having a pup together and that’s the only thing that should matter.”

Carissa, one of the unmated females who were always vying for Acksel’s attention, made a noise of disgust.  “Humans do not belong in pack business.  She’ll never be able to handle it.”

Mia snarled.  “That’s my best friend you’re talking about, Carissa, and the mate of our alpha.  She’ll handle things just fine.”

“Whatever,” Carissa rolled her eyes and tossed her hair over her shoulder dismissively.

Mia took a step towards her but Gavin stopped her.  “Not worth it.  Let’s get out of here.  I’m tired as hell.”

Carissa gave a look of superiority to Mia and then turned and joined her friends on the other side of the altar.  Among the unmated females, there were some that never wanted to sleep with Acksel, like Mia.  She only wanted to be with someone that she cared about, and although she liked Acksel and respected him as alpha, she wasn’t attracted to him.  Plus he was kind of an asshole, and she preferred her men to be nicer.

And then there were other females, like Carissa and the now-dead Talia, who had thrown themselves at Acksel in hopes of becoming his alpha female.  Mia didn’t think much of sharing a male like that — of having sex on the full moon before a hunt and then getting nothing in return for the rest of the month.  No dinner dates. No movies.  No snuggling on the couch.

She wasn’t really sure how the females could do it.  Be with Acksel for one night and then watch him choose someone else the next month.  Sleeping with the alpha had never been on her to-do list.

Mia would need to warn Brynn to watch her back with the females.  Some of them were clearly not happy that Acksel had declared a human his mate and was having a pup with her.

Until Acksel changed the pack laws about females proving the new alpha female, then Brynn was vulnerable.  Mia hoped to hell that Acksel changed the laws soon.

Chapter 12

Brynn woke gradually.  The darkness slid away by slow degrees as she came back to awareness.  She sat up abruptly with a sharp cry, remembering that she had been kidnapped.

But wait.

Her eyes roved the room wildly and she knew she wasn’t in the basement anymore.  Chains didn’t hold her arms above her head or restrict her legs.  No wolf was snapping at her.  No crazy woman was cutting off her clothes with a knife.

“You’re safe now, Brynn,” a familiar voice said.

From the corner of the room, she saw Acksel sitting in a chair.  Although his body was tense, he didn’t stand and come to her.  Her hands fisted the sheet pooled at her lap.  Looking down, she saw that she’d been dressed in a hospital gown.

“Where am I?”

“Gedding’s home.  He’s the pack doctor.”

“How did I get here?”

His face shadowed darkly.  “I took you out of that basement and brought you here, and then I ensured that pack justice was served to the ones that hurt you.  They’ll never harm anyone again.”

She wasn’t sure what he meant by pack justice, but she was pretty sure that the ones who had taken her were now dead.  Although part of her was relieved to know that she was safe, another part of her was still uneasy.

“Why did they take me?”  She knew what she’d been told, but she didn’t know if that was the truth or not.

Acksel stood, slowly unfolding his tall body from the chair.  He looked menacing and comforting at the same time, like some dark-haired avenging angel without wings.  “Because they found out that you’re carrying my pup, Brynn.  They planned to force me to abdicate my alpha position by losing in a challenge so that one of them could take over the pack.  If I had refused, they would’ve killed you and tried to kill me as well.”

Her face flushed and her heart skipped a beat.  “How did you find out?”

His eyes narrowed.  “It doesn’t matter.  What does matter is that you’re having my pup, and now that I know, I’m not going to let you go through this alone.”

Excuse me
?

Anger boiled inside her.  He didn’t get to make decrees about her or her baby.

She threw back the sheet and put her feet on the floor.  Standing slowly, she glared at him.  “You don’t get to tell me what to do, Acksel.  You had six weeks to call me or come see me and you didn’t, so you can go fuck yourself.”

“I stayed away to protect you,” he ground out, moving closer step by step.

“Good job,” she snarled at him, fighting twin urges to kick him in the balls and hug him.

Grief swept over his face.  “I’m sorry, Brynn.  I’m sorry that I failed.”  His hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Inhaling deeply and gathering her courage, she stared at him.  If he’d come to her in the last six weeks looking like a sad, sorry puppy, she would have opened her arms in a heartbeat.  She didn’t want to admit that she was so weak, but she cared about him and wanted to be part of his life.  But now things were different.  Now he knew that she was pregnant with his baby and had decided that meant he could order her around the way he did the wolves in his pack.  She didn’t trust that he cared for her; she didn’t believe that he thought being apart from her was the best thing for
her
.

“I need clothes.”  She spoke evenly and tried to control the fine tremor that was wiggling down her spine.  She needed to have a good cry somewhere privately to clear her head and then have some time to think.  Alone.

“I have clothes for you at my home.  I’ll drive you there and we can talk.”

Folding her arms, realizing that the back of the gown gaped and she was bare-assed to the back of the room, she frowned.  “I don’t want to go to your house.”

“I let you out of my sight before because I thought it was the best thing for you, but I’m not going to make that same mistake.”

“No.”

“What?”  His head cocked to the side and his gray eyes narrowed.

“You don’t get to decide anything for me.  I’m not one of your wolves that you can steamroll and force to do whatever you want, so toss that thought far from your mind.  Get me something to wear and let me leave.”

He was so fast that she didn’t see him move until his arms were around her and she was smashed against him.  One of his hands was fisted lightly in her hair and the other kneaded her lower back.  He stared down at her, his eyes flashing from gray to amber.  He dropped his head to the crux of her neck and inhaled.  The wash of his breath over her skin made her flesh prickle and everything in the center of her body went tight.

He nuzzled her jaw with a soft growl and then lifted his head to stare into her eyes.  His mouth hovered over hers and damn if she didn’t want him to kiss her.  As she lowered her eyelids in surrender, he suddenly released her and stepped away, keeping one hand on her elbow to keep her from falling, which she almost did.

She jerked her arm away.  Before she could tell him to keep his hands to himself, he said, “I know you’re not a wolf, Brynn.  But there are things you need to know and I’m not talking to you about our private business here in someone else’s home.  If you want to walk through town with your cute ass hanging out, then I will follow you to make sure you’re safe and we’ll talk at your home.  But I have to warn you that Gedding is on the opposite side of town from your house and that’s going to be a long walk without shoes or real clothes.”

She exhaled sharply, ignoring the desire to smile because he said she had a cute ass.  “You could send someone to my house to bring clothes to me.”

“I could, but I won’t.  I want to talk to you, Brynn, and I want to have you in the safety of my house.  If I have to hold you hostage without clothes to get you where you need to be, then I will do it.”

She snapped her teeth.  “You’re an asshole.”

Smirking, he shrugged.  “I’ve heard that before.”

She looked at the clock on the wall.  It was after eight in the morning.  If she walked through town in a hospital gown she’d probably get arrested for indecent exposure.  Not exactly the way she wanted to start out the day.

Reaching back to grab one flap of the gown and tug it forward so she remained covered, she gave him what she hoped was a lethal look and said, “I don’t like you very much.”

He went for the door and opened it, waiting for her to join him.  “I know.”

* * * * *

Acksel carried a protesting, angry Brynn out to his truck and put her in the passenger seat.  She’d wanted to walk on her own, but a part of him thought she’d make a break for it and really try to walk through town half-naked.  He might have said he’d let her do that, but he absolutely wouldn’t.

The four protectors stood near the truck, waiting for instructions.  “Follow me to my house.  Two of you shift and patrol around the perimeter and two you stand guard at the front and back of the house.  I’ll alert Sam to make arrangements for shifts in a few hours.”

The males nodded and jogged to the SUV while Acksel got into his truck and started the engine.  Brynn was wrapped in a blanket that Gedding had provided.  He had also offered clothes for her, but Acksel had turned them down.  First he would get her to his home and then they’d talk.  Eventually she’d get clothes, but not right now.

He glanced at her frequently as he drove home.  She was quiet and staring out the passenger window, her arms crossed over her chest.  He pulled up next to his home and turned off the engine.  The SUV parked on the curb and the four males got out and jogged around the house, except for one who went to the front porch and stood facing the street.